


Spanning The Years

by AnnaOnTheMoon



Series: Based on the Books [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-19 21:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12418167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheMoon/pseuds/AnnaOnTheMoon
Summary: Inspired by the new book, The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard. A what could have been for P/C.





	Spanning The Years

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished reading The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard and it filled in a few holes in our dear Captain’s relationship with his CMO. Namely that Beverly served aboard the Stargazer as part of her studies at the Academy. Jean-Luc authorised this because Jack was dating her and because he had fallen in love with Beverly when he first met her. This story explores how they could have gotten together way back then. PS: I couldn’t think of a good title for this. Forgive me.

Beverly Howard was ecstatic.  She had just received word that not only would she be completing her Academy studies on board a starship, but it would be aboard the _USS Stargazer_ , captained by her friend Jean-Luc Picard....and his first officer happened to be her boyfriend, Jack Crusher.  She hadn’t seen Jack in over 18 months, but they had been making an attempt at making the relationship work over the millions of miles of space. Beverly was nearly ready to tell Jack she needed to call it quits with him or needed to slow things down with him to concentrate on her studies when this opportunity landed in her lap. 

Apparently, this project  was the brain child of Jean-Luc Picard, who felt that it could help some of the cadets who weren’t raised on modern worlds to adjust better to life on starships.  He had cited his own upbringing in rural France and pointed out that even though he had scored the highest in his local school and had made it into the Academy, he had actually never been out in space until his first assignment at the Academy.  The program had been authorised, and the _Stargazer_ was going to be the pilot program.  Naturally, Jean-Luc had asked for his friend Beverly to be the first cadet in the program.

While Beverly had travelled on starships before – from the colony on Luna where she was born to Arvada III, to Caldos, and then finally to Earth, she hadn’t really experienced starships  as anything other than a way to get from A to B....but since she wanted to become a ship’s doctor, she would have to get used to life on a ship.  This was a perfect opportunity, especially since her boyfriend was the First Officer. 

Of course, it wasn’t going to be all fun and games. Beverly would have to stick to a prescribed set of lessons and her exams would need to be sent to the Academy for her results to be verified.  In addition to her studies, she would be expected to assist in the ship’s Sickbay as she intended to become a doctor.  She also was given the option of taking a turn on the Bridge, just to see what Command was about and she decided to take a shift once a fortnight just to see how she liked Bridge life.

When she arrived on the _Stargazer_ , she had jumped into Jack’s arms immediately, and then hugged Jean-Luc tightly before remembering who he was.  She took a step back and saluted. “Cadet Howard, reporting for duty, Sir.”

Jean-Luc smiled at the woman he fell in love with the minute he saw her and said “At ease, Cadet. The Lieutenant and I need to be somewhere, but Ensign Adams will show you to your quarters and show you around.  We’ll meet at 1500 to discuss your coursework and what you will be contributing to the _Stargazer_.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Jean-Luc turned back towards her as he stepped on the transporter pad “Oh, and Beverly? Welcome aboard.”

###

Beverly had settled into life aboard the _Stargazer_.  Jean-Luc had assigned her her own quarters. They were small, owing to overall size of the ship, but they were hers and she had just enough room for a bed, sofa, and a table that did double duty as a desk for completing her studies.  She even had a small porthole window so she could look out at the stars from her bed.  She and Doctor Ailat were getting along well and she was going to assist with the crew physicals  today.  As a token of good will, and to show the rest of the crew that Beverly could be trusted, Jean-Luc had offered to be her first patient.  She wasn’t sure if she was nervous or relieved.  She put on her new blue lab coat (a gift from Jack) over her cadet uniform, fluffed her hair out, and headed to Sickbay.

“Doctor Howard,” Beverly got a secret thrill at being called ‘doctor’, “I’m ready for my physical.” 

“Hello, Captain.  If you’ll just hop up on this biobed, we’ll get started.”  Beverly’s nerves had reached her voice, and it came out shakey.  As Jean-Luc walked past her on his way to the biobed, he whisperd in her ear “Relax, Beverly. It’s only me.  Practice on me. Get comfortable talking to your patients.”  She nodded and took a deep breath before continuing in her best professional voice. “Captain, if you wouldn’t mind taking off your uniform and laying down on the bio bed in your shorts, we can get started.”

Jean-Luc was tempted to quip a joke to put her at ease as he removed his uniform, but thought better of it.  On the other hand....it might relax her and make her feel more at ease, and if he could relax her during his examination, the other physicals would go much better for her. Jean-Luc caught her eye and winked. “If you had wanted to get me naked, you should have just asked.”  Beverly’s cheeks coloured, but she gave him a soft smile as if to say she understood what he was doing as he laid down on the biobed clad only in his shorts and socks.  _I wouldn’t mind getting her naked, though...no. Better not think about that. Especially as she’s about to touch me..._

Beverly studied the man laying before her on the bed. Of course, she had seen him in his swim shorts before and underwear wasn’t that much different, but her breath hitched as she took in the sight of his body.  Jean-Luc was toned and had fully defined abdominal muscles, much more than Jack had.  _Where did that come from?_ She shook her head to clear it.  “Jean-Luc?  Er..Captain?  I need to practice taking manual heart rates, mind if I use a stethoscope on yours? I’ve...ah.....”

“Never heard an artificial heart?”  She nodded. “Go ahead, Beverly.”

Beverly tentatively placed the cold stethoscope against Jean-Luc’s chest and he flinched, either from the cold or the touch of her fingers, he wasn’t entirely sure.  He concentrated on breathing slowly and evenly to keep his heart from racing.  Beverly leaned over and her hair just brushed against his cheek and he bit back a groan.  _Doesn’t she know what she does to me?  How can I possibly feel this way for my best friend’s girlfriend?_  Beverly carefully listened to his heart beat out a steady thump-thump.  She reached for his wrist and took his pulse manually at the same time and was surprised to find his pulse was slightly racing.  “Je-Captain, are you feeling alright? I’m detecting a higher pulse than you should have.”

“It’s fine, Doctor.  I’m not a fan of these physicals, you know.  I’m sure it’s just my reaction to being in Sickbay.”  Beverly nodded. 

Beverly continued her exam using her tricorder.  She stuck her tongue between her teeth as she took careful measurements and Jean-Luc smiled.  When she caught his eye and saw he was smiling, she smiled back.  “Ok, now I have to check your reflexes. If you could please sit up and swing your leg s around...”  Jean-Luc did as he was told.  Beverly carefully tapped on all the appropriate places and was pleased with his responses.  “Uhm...I need to get Dr Ailat to make sure I did everything right.  Are you okay waiting here?”

“Yes, of course. Mind if I get dressed? It’s a little chilly in here.” 

Beverly’s eyes widened.  “I hadn’t thought about the temperature. Do you think I should have the temperature raised for the rest of the exams?”

“It might be a good idea. Not too warm though or people will sweat. Maybe ask the computer to raise the temperature by three or four degrees.”

“Okay. Computer: raise the room temperature by three degrees.”

“Temperature raised by three degrees.” She smiled. She had never asked the computer to change the temperature before.  “Is that better?”

“Much.”  Beverly grinned as she went to show Ailat her results to check before she let Jean-Luc go.  She returned a few minutes later. “Captain, we are done here.  Everything is in order. Uh....you can get dressed now.” She  blushed. 

“Very good, Doctor. Thank you.”  He quickly got dressed and before he left he squeezed Beverly’s shoulder. “You did great, Beverly.”

“Thank you, Jean-Luc.  See you for Lunch?”

“Of course.  Who is your next patient?”

“Umm....Vigo?”

“He’s pretty easy going. You’ll be fine. See you in the mess later.” Beverly watched Jean-Luc leave Sickbay and she heaved a small sigh.  She knew she shouldn’t be having feelings for the man...not only was he one of her best friends, he was Jack’s best friend _and_ he was her Captain.  She would just have to put all thoughts of Jean-Luc Picard as anything other than her best friend out of her head.

###

Jean-Luc was relaxing with a book and a glass of wine when his doorchime went off.  He sighed and put his book down.  Most of his crew didn’t bother him this late at night, so who could it be? He called for the door to open and was surprised to see Beverly sweep into the room. She was wearing a dress, her hair was slightly wild, and there were tear tracks running down her face.  He immediately jumped up from the sofa to walk over to her. “Beverly? Are you alright?”

Beverly collapsed into his arms and wept. “N-n-no. Jack and I....had a fight....” 

Jean-Luc really didn’t know what to do, having very little experience with crying women, but he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder while he guided her over to the sofa and gently pushed her down onto the cushions.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yes...No...I don’t know!”  Jean-Luc held out his glass of wine and she took a sip.  “He just....he doesn’t understand.....”   Jean-Luc ran his hands up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing gesture.  Beverly’s cries turned to hiccups and Jean-Luc refilled his glass for her.  “I’m sorry I came here.  I don’t know why I did....”

Jean-Luc covered her hand with his.  “I think you came here because you needed a friend.  Tonight, Beverly, I am not your Captain, I am your friend.” 

Emboldened by the wine, Beverly rose up on her knees on the sofa, straddled Jean-Luc’s lap, and kissed him soundly.  Almost automatically, Jean-Luc’s hands went to her hips to steady her as she deepened the kiss. He let his hands roam up her back and tangled his fingers in her hair as she explored every inch of his mouth with her tongue.  Alarm bells rang in Jean-Luc’s head, but he ignored them and could only concentrate on the fact that Beverly was here, in his quarters, in his _lap_ , and she was kissing him.  His fingers found the zip on her dress and he slowly pulled it down. Beverly moved her arms from where they were wrapped around his neck just long enough to pull her arms free from her dress allowing it to pool at her waist.  Jean-Luc brought one hand forward and gently cupped a lace-clad breast.  Beverly moaned into his mouth and her hands became bolder and she unhooked the clasps on the neck of his uniform tunic and managed to get it unfastened so it fell open. She pushed it off his shoulders and tugged off his undershirt. Jean-Luc had one hand on her breast and the other working it’s way under the skirt of her dress before he came to his senses.

“Beverly...Beverly, my love...should we be doing this?  You’ve had a fight with Jack....I don’t want...I mean, I do want you, but I don’t.....”   Beverly’s eyes met his as she stood up and let her dress fall to the floor.  She reached behind and unhooked her bra, sending it sailing across the room.  She turned around and started to walk towards his bed. 

“Are you joining me?”

###

Jean-Luc wasn’t entirely sure how they didn’t get caught that morning.  When Beverly left, she was wearing a freshly replicated uniform, but had her dress tucked under her arm.  If anyone had taken note of the time, they would have wondered what the Cadet had been doing leaving the Captain’s quarters at 0600.  Jean-Luc was even more surprised that they didn’t get caught the next time, or the time after that, or even, the time after that. 

Beverly knew she needed to break things off with Jack. Their relationship had been going nowhere and they fought nearly every time they were together. She had only slept with Jack once since she had started sleeping with Jean-Luc, and it had been awkward and uncomfortable for her and it only solidified it in her mind that she needed to break things off with Jack.  That night, she snuck out of Jack’s quarters once he had fallen asleep and she made her way to Jean-Luc’s.  She took a hot shower and scrubbed every last touch of Jack off her body before joining Jean-Luc in bed, where she asked him to hold her while she cried herself to sleep.  She was upset with herself for letting Jack touch her.

As it turned out,  she didn’t need to break things off with Jack.  Jack had become angry and upset when Beverly kept making excuses for why she couldn’t spend the night with him and he had started sleeping with a young Ensign in the Science department.  Jean-Luc’s relationship with his best friend had become strained due to Jean-Luc being afraid he would let it slip that he was in love with Beverly and so he simply avoided speaking to Jack in any other capacity other than Captain and First Officer, so he hadn’t even been aware of Jack’s affair. 

It all came to a head when Jack came to Jean-Luc’s ready room and told him that he had gotten Ensign Adams pregnant and the young Ensign insisted on keeping the child and wanted to marry Jack.....and Jack wanted Jean-Luc, as ship’s Captain, to do the deed in secret.  Jean-Luc agreed, but only if Jack told Beverly first. 

Beverly had been shocked when Jack told her. He had been trying to sleep with her the entire time he was sleeping with Beth! Of course, Beverly had known Beth Adams was pregnant because she had come into Sickbay and Ailat had been busy so Beverly had examined her, but Beth had kept the identity of the father from Beverly.  Now she knew why.  Beverly briefly thought about telling Jack she was sleeping with his best friend, but decided it wasn’t worth the fight that would ensue. 

After Jack and Beth’s wedding, Beverly began openly seeing Jean-Luc.  Jean-Luc didn’t want to flaunt his relationship with her, but he wasn’t opposed to greeting her with a quick kiss for Lunch or wrapping his arm around her while they walked through the corridors. 

He  couldn’t get enough of her and he even debated asking her to move into his quarters. The only thing that was stopping him was the fact that when she had been dating Jack, he had insisted they had separate quarters, and a small part of him didn’t want to be a hypocrite.  So, Beverly maintained her own quarters but did very little sleeping in them and mostly used her quarters for her studies. 

Jack seemed to take their relationship in stride. He was a little jealous because a small part of him still harboured feelings for Beverly, but he was happy he was going to become a father.  Beth left the ship in her seventh month of pregnancy.  Jean-Luc had previously said when he became Captain that he would not allow children on his ship, and Jack hadn’t bothered asking if he would allow the exception for his child.  Two months later, Jack’s daughter was born and Jack had missed the birth of his child and hadn’t seemed overly upset  about this.  If Beverly hadn’t been sure before that she no longer wanted to be with Jack, this just added proof.  Beverly knew she wouldn’t have been able to handle being married to someone who was ok with being apart from his wife and child....which also made her start to think about her relationship with Jean-Luc.

Jean-Luc claimed to not like children, but Beverly had seen his reaction to babies.  Pregnant crew members were not unheard of, and while Beth Crusher had left the ship to return to Earth before her baby was born, it didn’t always happen that way.  Jean-Luc always made a point to visit the new mother and child and Beverly watched as he looked on in awe and cooed at the babies.  Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure she was ready for babies, and she and Jean-Luc hadn’t ever discussed it, but Beverly was sure they would eventually. 

Beverly was into her second year of studying on board the _Stargazer_ when she was faced with a choice.  The _Stargazer_ was being sent to the other end of the sector on a two-year mapping mission.  Beverly needed to decide if she wanted to continue her studies on board, or if she wanted to return to the Academy.  Of course, she would have to return at some point as there were certain things you just needed to learn in a teaching hospital and not on a ship’s sickbay, but she didn’t have to return quite yet.  And she really wasn’t looking forward to that day, if truth be told.  She wasn’t sure if Jean-Luc would want to remain in a relationship with her if she wasn’t with him...it was silly of her to think that, but she knew of Jean-Luc’s history with women and knew his first girlfriend had broken up with him when he was leaving for flight school due to the distance, and she knew he had broken it off with Jenice before he returned to the _Stargazer_...so she just wasn’t sure where they would stand if she needed to leave.  She took a fortifying breath and hit the chime outside Jean-Luc’s ready room.

“Come.  Ah, Cadet Howard, what can I do for you?”  Jean-Luc grinned at his girlfriend.  Was she here for business or pleasure?

“Captain, I came to discuss my studies.”

  _Ah. Business, not pleasure.  But perhaps...._ Jean-Luc let his mind wander and imagined sweeping the desk of PADDs to make love to Beverly right there.  He gazed up and noticed the serious look on Beverly’s face.  _Right. Serious. She is not the love of my life at this moment, she is a Cadet._ “Please, have a seat, Cadet.  Tea?”  Beverly nodded and Jean-Luc busied himself over at the replicator wondering what Beverly needed to talk to him about.  He hoped she wasn’t planning on leaving the ship.  He passed her a steaming cup. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, Captain...this new mission the ship will be going on....I need to know...I have to decide....should I stay on board?” 

“Are you asking me as your Captain, or as your boyfriend?” 

“Can you separate one from the other to give me both opinions?”

“I’ll try. Cadet Howard, having you on board has been wonderful and the crew all really like you and get along with you.  Doctor Ailat says you are coming along with your medical studies. The only problem I see is your advisor being Lieutenant Commander Crusher...due to your...personal situation, I’m not sure it is advisable for him to continue in that capacity.  Normally, it is the duty of the first officer to handle this sort of thing, however, Lieutenant Commander Wu has offered to step in if you would like her to become your advisor instead.”  Beverly nodded. Jean-Luc continued. “So I see no reason for you to leave.  And on an entirely personal level...” He reached across the table to clasp Beverly’s hand “I would be severely disappointed if you left.”

Beverly smiled.  “Jean-Luc, If l did leave...what would happen?  To us, I mean?”

Jean-Luc frowned. “I suppose we would have to revaluate our relationship.” Beverly’s face fell. “No, you misunderstand me. Beverly...that’s not what I meant.  I only meant that it would be hard being apart from you, but I would endeavour to make it work.  Beverly, I love you.”

“I love you too, Jean-Luc.  And while you might be able to separate being my Captain from being my boyfriend, I can’t separate my feelings.  I don’t want to leave.  I just wanted to make sure _you_ didn’t want me to.  I mean, I will have to eventually to finish up my degree, but until then....”

“We can continue as we are.”  Jean-Luc leaned over the desk and gave her a quick kiss.  “Now, my love, as much as I love kissing you in my Ready Room, I’m not sure it’s entirely appropriate.  Especially as I find myself wanting to pull you across this desk to make love to you.”  Beverly blushed.

“Jean-Luc, I’m positively scandalised!”

“Now, did you need anything else, _Cadet_?”

“No, _Captain._ ”  She grinned. “Dinner tonight?”

Jean-Luc nodded. “I’ll see you then. You are dismissed, Cadet.” Beverly stood up and swayed her hips as she turned around and headed for the door. Jean-Luc groaned. How was he going to get through the rest of the day?

###

They were enjoying a quiet meal in Jean-Luc’s quarters that night when Beverly decided to brave the question that had been on her mind. 

“Jean-Luc?  May I ask you something we haven’t talked about?”

Jean-Luc put his wine glass down to give her his undivided attention “Of course. What’s on your mind, my love?”

“Children.”  Jean-Luc gaped at her.  “Oh, Jean-Luc.  I’m not pregnant. No.  Don’t worry, I keep my implant up to date.  I just wondered if you had ever thought about having any?”

Jean-Luc reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.  “It’s not anything I have thought about in the past, if I’m honest.  I remember my first day on the _Stargazer_.  I had an egg thrown at me by the child of the First Officer.  Children, of course, aren’t normally permitted on vessels but it is left up to the discretion of the Captain.  The Captain wanted Mazzara as his First Officer, who was a widower with two young boys.  And those boys....well, they were holy terrors.  Probably still are.  When I met those children, I decided I didn’t want children if it meant they would turn out like _that._ But then I began to realise that it wasn’t that all children were bad, it was just that Mazzara was a very indulgent parent.  But at the time I never thought I would meet someone I wanted to....” he trailed off.  He wasn’t quite ready to confess to Beverly that he had thought about getting married.

“But you would consider it now?” 

“Yes, I think so.  I might even relax my feelings about children on starships if the child were my own...especially as I don’t think I could imagine myself being apart from their mother, who I’m sure I would love very much...”  He exchanged a glance with Beverly that clearly said he wanted _her_ to be the mother of his children.  A small shiver went through Beverly as she realised what he was saying.

“Jean-Luc?”  He looked up at her. “I think I wouldn’t want to be separated from the father of my children, either.  I think I would love him too much to want to be separated for long.”  Jean-Luc smiled.  Yes, they seemed to be on the exact same page with each other.  

Jean-Luc refilled their wine glasses and held his up. “To children....eventually.”  He clinked his glass with Beverly’s and felt as though his heart would burst. 

###

The two-year mission was coming to a close.  Jack was happy, because he would finally get the chance to meet his daughter once the ship docked at Starbase 32.  Jean-Luc was sure he would be saying goodbye to his first officer once he saw his child and wife again, but Jack had pleasantly surprised him by wanting to stay on board. 

Jean-Luc had finally asked Beverly to marry him.  Since Beverly’s only family was her nana on Caldos, and Jean-Luc only had his estranged relationship with his brother, the couple decided to get married on Starbase 32 in the small chapel there.  Their time together was going to have to soon be broken as Beverly would need to return to the Academy and Starfleet Medical to finish her medical studies.  Fortunately, she met with the doctor on Starbase 32, Doctor Quaice, and Quaice had agreed to allow Beverly to complete her internship on the base, so she could still see Jean-Luc whenever his ship was in.

 Beverly and Jean-Luc had also decided not to wait any longer to have a baby, and Beverly removed her implant shortly before the wedding.  Beverly was both pleased and shocked when she found out three weeks after the wedding that she was expecting!  Jean-Luc was, of course, ecstatic  and was suddenly wistful about missing out on her pregnancy.  He somehow managed to be based at Starbase 32 more and more so he could spend time with his pregnant wife, and he was lucky to have been present for the birth of his son.  Wesley Robert Picard was a healthy baby boy and as Jean-Luc gazed down on his child, he felt as though he was finally complete.  He had the love of a fantastic woman, and now a son. 

###

The _Stargazer_ was gone.  Jean-Luc and his shipmates were floating around in lifepods and all he could think of was how utterly thankful he was that Beverly and Wesley were still on Starbase 32 and that he had survived. It would take weeks before they would make it back to the base, but he would make it. 

Back on Starbase 32, Beverly’s hands shook as she viewed the information in front of her.  Jean-Luc’s ship had been destroyed by the Ferengi....but he was okay, and he was on his way home to her.  She checked the list of casualties and was saddened to see some of the people she had grown to think of as part of their family on the list of the dead.  Sully, Anderson, Utvek....they would be missed.  Beverly felt a little selfish for feeling so happy that Jean-Luc was coming home to her.  Sadly, Beth Crusher had not been so lucky as six months ago, Jean-Luc had had to deliver the news to her that Jack had died on an away mission. 

Beverly had mourned with Beth as Jack had been her first love, and she tried to help out as much as possible, always offering to take Sara, their daughter who was a few years older than Wesley, whenever she could to give Beth a break.  She wondered if this - her husband and the father of her child surviving while hers had perished – would change their relationship.  For the sake of their children, she hoped it wouldn’t.

When Jean-Luc finally arrived at Starbase 32, he scooped Wesley into his arms and didn’t let go until Wesley whinged “Papa, too tight!” He gently put Wesley down and drew Beverly into his arms in a passionate kiss, eliciting a “yuck” from the almost six-year-old. 

Beverly laughed. “Oh my dear sweet boy.  One day, you will not find kissing yucky.”  Wesley shook his head at his mother. “Nuh-uhh!” Wesley then tugged on his father’s hand. “Papa, will you read to me tonight?” 

“Of course, Wes.  What shall we read tonight?”

“Cap’n Kirk!”  Beverly rolled her eyes.  “Sorry, Jean-Luc, he’s become obsessed with Captain Kirk lately.  Doctor Quaice gave him a storybook about the _Enterprise_ and I think we’ve had to read it every night since _._  He also keeps asking for a pet Tribble.”  Jean-Luc groaned. “Our son _does_ know that his father is a starship captain, right?”

###

Jean-Luc had been back for a month with his wife and son before the summons came.  In addition to getting to tuck his son into bed each night, he and Beverly had decided to try for a second child, and Jean-Luc had to admit the trying was fun.  His time on the base wasn’t all fun, however as he had needed to notify the families of the twenty-three who had perished along with the ship.  He heaved a sigh when the summons came from Admiral Quinn. He was being court marshalled over the loss of the ship.  Jean-Luc was assured it was only a formality, but then read the name of the prosecutor. Phillipa Louvois.  His heart sank.

“Beverly, I’m not sure if I will make it out of this in one piece.  Phil is....well, she was pretty tough back when I knew her at the Academy and if she’s still holding a grudge...this can’t end well.”

“So tell Quinn it’s a conflict of interest. Surely he wouldn’t have your ex-girlfriend prosecute you if he was made aware of the situation.”

“She may have changed, it’s been nearly thirty years.”

Beverly pursed her lips. “We’ll go with you.”

“What?”

“Wes and I. We’ll come to Earth with you.”

“Beverly, my love, the hearing could take weeks...months....I can’t ask you to leave your position here just to hold my hand in a courtroom.”

“You can, and you will. You’re not facing this alone.”

“Bev, are you worried about Phil?  Please don’t be,”  Jean-Luc took her hands in his and gave them a squeeze. “You have nothing to worry about.  I promise.”

“Well, I don’t trust her.  Who accepts a case to prosecute their ex unless they still have a vendetta against him?  I’ll talk to Doctor Quaice. I’m sure he can spare me.”

Two weeks later, the Picards were on their way to Earth.  Doctor Quaice had insisted Beverly go with her husband and told her not to worry about the time away.  She would begin writing the report about the research they were doing so as to not be completely abandoning her work.  Wesley was enrolled in the Kindergarten on the base, but his teacher had explained he really wouldn’t miss much as he was so much more advanced than the other students. In fact, Wesley had been reading with the bigger children.  His teacher felt that as long as he continued to practice his reading and math, he wouldn’t have any problems when they returned.  Jean-Luc marvelled over how advanced his child was and was sure he must have his mother’s brain.  Beverly countered back by pointing out all of Jean-Luc’s accomplishments. 

Beverly, Jean-Luc, and Wesley had settled into their temporary quarters and waited.  Finally, Jean-Luc was assigned counsel. To his shock, he was assigned to Anthony Mazzara, the child of his former Captain.  Mazzara  explained that Phillipa was accusing him of gross negligence.  _Gross negligence?  But I didn’t do anything...._ Beverly was livid when she heard this and made sure Mazzara was informed of Phillipa’s previous relationship with Jean-Luc.   Mazzara filed this bit of information away, and planned to use it to Jean-Luc’s advantage during the trial. 

Beverly brought Wesley to the first session, but Wesley was soon so bored that Mazzara had suggested his wife look after Wesley for them as they had a son the same age as Wesley.  Jean-Luc did a double take at this information, but then he realised Beverly was around the same age as Mazzara.  Sometimes, Jean-Luc forgot just how much older he was than his wife.  Mazzara made arrangements for Wesley to attend the same Kindergarten as his son for as long as they would be on Earth.  Beverly appreciated the gesture, as it meant she could pay attention to the trial and be there to support her husband instead of entertaining their son. 

On Day ten of the trial, Phillipa called Beverly to the stand.  Mazzara objected as Beverly hadn’t been serving on the Stargazer and was Jean-Luc’s wife and then asked if Phillipa’s plan was to parade out every ex of Jean-Luc’s.  This caused Phillipa to falter as Mazzara asked if she was going to call herself to the stand as she had dated Jean-Luc at the Academy.  The judge raised his eyebrows at this comment and after calling for a recess, soon threw the case out as it was clear Phillipa had a personal agenda. 

When Jean-Luc met with Admiral Quinn after the hearing, he was asked what he wanted to do. Naturally, Jean-Luc wanted another ship.  Admiral Quinn sighed.

“You understand, Jean-Luc, it’s not going to be easy.  You need to lay low for a while.”

“How long?”

“A year? Two?  Come work for me. I’ll try to keep you active.”

“Sir, my wife is on Starbase 32 with Doctor Quaice. I can’t leave her and my son behind, and I don’t want to ask her to put her career on hold for me.”

Admiral Quinn sighed again. “I don’t think there is anything else I can do for you, Jean-Luc.  Either you come work for me, or you’ll have to resign your commission.  I’m sorry.  I wish there was another way.”

“Can I at least talk it over with Beverly first?  I don’t want to make any decisions without her.”

“Of course.  Come see me tomorrow.  Dismissed.”

###

“Jean-Luc, what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know, Beverly.  I just don’t know.  If I take this job working for Quinn, at least it might give me a chance at a ship again, but I can’t ask you to leave your post...and I don’t want to be separated from you and Wes.  Especially not if we’ve managed to get pregnant again.”

Beverly arched an eyebrow. “We?”

“Alright, you.”

“Do you want me to check now?  I can do the test in two minutes.  Would it really make that much of a difference?”

“No, I guess not.  But I don’t want to leave you, Wes, and potentially another child alone on Starbase 32 while I am stuck behind some desk on Earth.  I’ll just...resign my commission.  It will be for the best. Perhaps I can teach, or go into archaeology.”

Beverly shook her head at her husband. “Jean-Luc, if I have to transfer to Starfleet Medical, I transfer.  Wesley could grow up for a few years on Earth, and then perhaps when you get another ship we can all be together.” 

“Only if you’re sure that’s what you want to do.”

“I’ll contact Doctor Quaice right now and put in for a transfer.”  Jean-Luc leaned over and kissed Beverly.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

###

Jean-Luc had been on Earth for eight years, and he was going a little stir crazy if truth be told. He and Beverly had a second child six years ago, a little girl they named Adele after Jean-Luc’s aunt.  Wesley was now 13, and rapidly on his way to earning  a high school diploma within the next year.  Adele was smart for her age too.  She had inherited Beverly’s red hair and blue eyes and was already expressing her caring side, rescuing all sorts of wildlife that wandered into their large back garden outside of San Francisco.  Beverly was working her way up the ranks of Starfleet Medical, and rumour had it she would soon be offered a CMO position on board a ship. Of course, she wasn’t going to accept the offer unless it was captained by her husband. 

Jean-Luc was touring the _USS Enterprise 1701-D_ at Utopia Planitia and coming up with names for Admiral Quinn for who would be best as the Captain. Of course, what he really wanted to do was throw his own name into the hat for it, but he wasn’t entirely sure if he would ever see command of a ship again.  Eight years was a long time between commands, even if he had briefly commanded a starbase and a ship in that time, it still wasn’t anywhere close to having his own ship.  He was just checking the Ready Room when Admiral Quinn caught up to him. 

Jean-Luc began by listing off all of the eligible Captains and who he thought might be a good fit for the ship when Admiral Quinn held up his hand.

“Jean-Luc.  This is going to be the flagship of the Federation.  Whoever is Captain will be the most influential and highest ranking Captain in the fleet....which is why I am offering the position to you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.  You’ve been behind a desk long enough. Time you got that family of yours in the sky.  Of course, you will have _carte blanche_ in regards to your staff.  I’m sure you know someone who might be ready for the position of Chief Medical Officer...”

Jean-Luc grinned.  The _Enterprise_ was going to be the first ship to have families on board, which meant proper school for the children, and friends for them to interact with.  Wesley would benefit greatly, and could possibly intern with the Engineering department while he waited for his acceptance to the Academy.  Adele would be sad to leave her dance classes, but perhaps she could take some on the holodeck.  “Thank you, Sir.  I accept, pending a discussion with my wife.”

“Of course, Jean-Luc.  Just let me know in the morning.”

###

“So, what do you think?”  Jean-Luc asked after he finished telling Beverly about the offer of the _Enterprise._

“Well, you _have_ to take it.  Captain of the flagship?  I can’t think of any reason why you would consider turning that down.” Jean-Luc drew her into his arms.  Fourteen years of marriage and he was just as in love with her now as he had been when he first laid eyes on her seventeen years ago. 

“I can think of three.  You, Wesley, and Adele. Would you want to become my Chief Medical Officer?  Would the children enjoy living on a starship?  I have to do what’s right for our family, not just me.”

Beverly leaned in and kissed him.  “First, yes, I accept.  If you are going to be Captain, I will be your CMO.  Second, why don’t we ask them their opinion?  I think Wesley would be all for it, but Adele might take some convincing.  She’ll want to bring her cat.”

“A cat? On a starship? Well...I guess it would be ok.  We at least would always know where the cat was! Speaking of the cat and our children...where are they?”

“I don’t know where Mittens is, but Wesley went camping with Alex Mazzara, and Adele is having a sleepover with Megan.”

“You mean to tell me we have the entire house to ourselves?” 

“We do indeed.” Jean-Luc peppered her face with kisses as he gently tugged off her labcoat and pulled on the zipper of her jumpsuit.  “Mm, what do you think you’re doing?” 

Jean-Luc kicked off his boots and unzipped his own uniform. “Saving time?”

“And they say romance is dead....”

###

Hours later, they were lying on the sofa. Beverly was laying half on top of Jean-Luc with his arms wrapped around her.  They had covered themselves with a quilt Beverly’s nana had sent them long ago and had their fingers entwined. 

“I love our children but I forgot how nice it is to just be alone with you....”  Jean-Luc turned his head to kiss the side of Beverly’s.

“I am the Captain. Perhaps I can give our children their own quarters.  What do you think?”

“I think Adele is six and needs her parents.”

“She’ll be eight by the time we launch.  That’s old enough, right? Wesley will be fifteen....wait. No. Wesley is definitely not having his own quarters. I remember what it was like to be fifteen....”

“Oh? And what did you do when you were fifteen?”

“Mmm. The barn had a loft...”

Beverly shifted in his arms to look at Jean-Luc’s face. “It did, did it? And who was the lovely lady I’m sure you took up there?”

“Oh, I don’t remember.”

“Everyone remembers their first time.”

“Well, my point was, Wesley is not having his first time aboard my ship!”

“Hmm.  How large are the Captain’s quarters on the _Enterprise_?”

“I think we can make them as big as we want, why?”

“Well, the children will need a room each, so that will mean three....”

“Three?  Two.  We have two children.”

“Three.”  Beverly took Jean-Luc’s hand and glided it down her abdomen.  “Just found out today I’m twelve weeks along.  Another boy.”

“Really?  I thought after the second miscarriage you didn’t think you would be able to become pregnant again?”

“Well, I guess little junior here had other ideas.” 

Jean-Luc made a face.  “Not Junior. One Jean-Luc is plenty, thank you.”

“Hmmm. What do you think of Jacques?”

“For Jack?” Beverly nodded.  “I think Jack would laugh at us if he were here, but yes, let’s name the baby Jacques after his Uncle Jack. “  Jean-Luc was contemplative for a moment before he exclaimed “ _Merde_.  Now we’ll never be alone, will we?”

“Mm. We’ll make your first officer babysit.” Beverly rolled over so she was straddling Jean-Luc. 

“I like the way your mind works, love.”

###

Two years later, the Picard family arrived at Utopia Planetia.  Fifteen-year-old Wesley couldn’t wait to get a look around Engineering, while eight-year-old Adele simply wanted to meet the other children.  Eighteen-month-old Jaq didn’t really have much of an opinion. He was content to be in the arms of his father, drooling casually all over Jean-Luc’s new uniform.  Beverly was anxious to get into her Sickbay – her first Sickbay of her very own – but first she had to arrange for a nanny for Jaq and Adele. 

They were going to “hire” 2 Ensigns who would take it in turn to always have someone on call in case both Jean-Luc and Beverly were called away in an emergency.  The Ensigns would have a room within their quarters and essentially be live-in Nannies.  They planned to hire from the Child Development graduate class – a new program at the Academy for the new class of Galaxy starships. Beverly had a stack of resume pads tucked into her bag.  As soon as they were settled in their quarters, she would schedule interviews.  They had decided Beverly would handle the interviews on her own as it might be intimidating for the young Ensigns to be interviewed by the Captain. 

Three days later, and they had obtained the services of Ensigns Robin Allister and Katie Evans.  Beverly pretended not to notice the glances between Ensign Evans and her eldest, but she was sure to make sure the girls were made aware of the Captain’s rules regarding dating and sexual partners – that was that they were free to date and do whatever they pleased on their time off, but they were not to bring anyone back to their quarters. Both girls readily agreed to the rules, as they knew having a position working directly for the Captain could greatly improve their careers down the road. 

Launch day had arrived. Remembering how he had felt coming on board the _Stargazer_ all those years ago being greeted by the First Officer’s children, he made sure his own children were far away from the bridge staff as they all came together for their first day on board. Unfortunately, Wesley had managed to convince Beverly to bring him to the bridge, but after he had correctly noticed a perimeter alert, Jean-Luc had smiled at his son and allowed him to stay and observe.  He briefly wondered if it would be playing favouritism if he let Wesley operate the conn.  He shook his head and decided that was something to discuss with Beverly at a later date. 

On Jean-Luc’s mark, the ship would head towards their first mission – Farpoint station, where they would be picking up additional crew.  Jean-Luc reached over and took Beverly’s hand and gave it a squeeze before he issued the command he had been waiting to say for ten long years...

“Engage.”

###FIN###


End file.
